After every country we visit, Vikram writes about our overall experiences and highlights. Here’s his take on Cambodia!
Angkor Wat was one of the places that inspired this trip, and for us, it lived up to the hype. But as we learned during our three weeks in Cambodia, the country has much more to offer than the temples of Angkor.
Before we got to Phnom Penh, we weren’t sure if we wanted to see the Killing Fields, since it seemed like it would be extremely depressing. I’m glad we did. It WAS, in fact, a huge downer, but we didn’t really learn about Cambodian history in school, and going in person provided a more impactful experience than reading the Wikipedia page.
Learning about the worst period in Cambodia’s history also provided important context as we saw the rest of the country. A lot Cambodia seems fairly underdeveloped relative to its neighbors—the roads are terrible, it doesn’t really have its own currency, and life expectancy is low. But after learning about the destructive policies of the Khmer Rouge, it’s amazing to see the progress the country has made just 40 years later. The Cambodian people have been through a lot, and yet they were among the warmest and most friendly people we’ve met on our trip.
After the chaos of Phnom Penh and our packed sightseeing schedule in Siem Reap, it was nice to take it easy and enjoy the sleepy towns of Battambang and Kampot, full of charming (though decaying) French Colonial architecture. We loved biking through the countryside with local students through Butterfly Tours and learning about the work and lifestyles of the people in rural Cambodia.
While Cambodia doesn’t have many world-famous attractions beyond Angkor, we really enjoyed our three weeks in the country, and would recommend to anyone backpacking through Southeast Asia that they do more in Cambodia than spend a few days in Siem Reap.
Basics
Number of days: 19
Cities: 4 (Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampot)
Number of bus rides: 4
Finances
Average daily cost per person: $39.23 per person
Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4000 Cambodian Riel (most transactions are done in USD)
Attractions
Favorite things we did:
- Angkor Wat
- It sounds weird to put the Killing Fields as a favorite thing, but Choeung Ek and Tuol Sleng had the two best audio tours I’ve ever taken of any museum. They provided necessary context for the rest of our visit to the country, and I’d urge anyone visiting Cambodia to make time for them before jetting off to Siem Reap
- Biking through the countryside in Battambang and Kampot with Butterfly Tours
- Meeting up and eating tarantulas with our friends Kevin and Priscilla
Better than expected: The positive attitudes and warmth of the Cambodian people, given what they’ve been through, was inspiring.
Worse than expected: The roads in Cambodia are horrendous, and most sidewalks in Phnom Penh are blocked or unusable. Be careful walking around!
Things you have to eat:
- Num pang (basically banh mi)
- Beef lok lak
- Fish Amok
- Khmer Muslim beef and peanut curry, served with baguettes
- The tarantulas at Romdeng
- Surprisingly good Mexican food at Espresso in Kampot
Biggest challenges we faced: Mary’s extended sickness in Battambang 🙁
What we would have done differently: Visited the relatively undeveloped eastern part of Cambodia to do some trekking.
Read More!
The Best of the Temples of Angkor
